This archive report was first published on 12 December 2019.
Heavy rains in Turkana County have left roads impassable, disrupting the trucking of crude oil to Mombasa.
According to sources, Tullow Oil has halted the transportation of crude oil for close to 10 days due to the damaged roads.
The trucking stoppage has thrown into uncertainty the plan to make another crude oil shipment in March 2020, which aimed to double the volume of crude oil shipped from Turkana in the first quarter of the year.
Initially, the country had planned to ship 500,000 barrels of crude oil in March 2020, twice the volume shipped during the inaugural sale in August.
Despite the disruption, Petroleum Principal Secretary Andrew Kamau remained optimistic about the trucking plan, stating that they had not received any report of a significant effect on the March 2020 target.
However, a source within Tullow Oil revealed that the roads have been impassable, especially around Marich Pass, where a section of the road has been completely swept off.
“The roads have been impassable especially around Marich Pass where a section of the road has been completely swept off. Trucking may have to wait until the area is dry or when the road is repaired, which may take longer,” the source said, seeking anonymity for fear of being reprimanded for addressing the media without authorisation.
